The first sealing came with my countertops anything after that is up to me. I did not want to do the original sealing since I have no idea what I am doing. It is supposed to last several years.

Have you tested your granites? What does your fabricator recommend?

I'm not familiar with your granite but before I had mine installed I brought home a large sample piece that was polished but not sealed. I experimented with lemons, wine, mustard, ketchup, balsamic vinegar, Dawn dish liquid etc. to see if they etched the granite. Nothing happened. They sealed it when they installed it at no additional cost to me and left a can for me to use if needed. It's been 15 years and I've never sealed it, it looks as good as the day it was installed.

I'm having Ice Flake quartzite installed next week in my new home and I did the same experiments. This time it was on 2 pieces - one polished, one honed. I'm happy to report that again my sample pieces were untouched. However I know quartzite may areas of other stones as part of the slab so I'll have my fabricator seal it with his 15 year product - he's not charging extra.

Depending on the stone you may get away with never sealing it or you may find that you need to seal it every 6 months. Your contractor isn't the only person that can offer you a 15 year guarantee. It may be worth shopping around if you go that route.

If you don't trust yourself to remember to seal your counters every six months, then I would go with the Bulletproof or a similar product. Using something like Granite Gold every six months is much cheaper and it's very easy to do, however.

The Antique Brown doesn't need a sealer as it is a very dense granite with a low absorption rate. Alpine White needs a sealer. Most counter fabricators will seal at the installation as part of the job--not "Dupont Heavy Duty" or whatever, but just regular sealer. The $90 is ridiculous! As for the Bulletproof stuff, we've seen posts on this forum that it adds a plasticky look to the stone and ruins the appearance, so I would decline on that.

If the fabricator won't do regular sealant as part of the installation the way most normal fabricators will, then just go to Home Depot and buy 511 Impregnator Sealant in the smallest size possible (the 16 oz. size). Make sure it's not the "Enhancer" version, just Impregnator Sealant. That 16 oz. size will last you longer than you will be in that kitchen. The directions are on the bottle, but it's a simple wipe on, then wipe off the residue, finished. Just takes a couple minutes.

You should seal the Alpine White once or twice a year. The way you can tell if your stone needs to be sealed again is to drop a bit of water on the counter. If it beads up and doesn't absorb, you don't need sealer.

511 Sealant at Home Depot

One more note about Antique Brown - as I mentioned, it is a very dense stone and doesn't need sealant (lucky you, because it will be very low maintenance). In fact, because Antique Brown is so dense, sealant may be detrimental to the appearance of the stone. Due to the density, the sealant will not absorb into the stone, and instead will sit on top, causing a haze and streaks. Sometimes the sealant, sitting on top of the stone, will "etch"--or will look like etching. It's not actually etching, it's just the sealant sitting on top, not being absorbed. So do not seal your Antique Brown.

Alpine White on the other hand has a higher absorption rate, and will absorb the sealant, and needs to be sealed which can be done so easily and cheaply as I described in my post above.